Tarascon - Château du Roi René

Immediately north of the road bridge (Boulevard du Château), on the banks of the Rhône, stands the massive fortress-like castle of Château du Roi René. Its origins go back to the late 14th C. and it was named after René, Duke of Anjou and former King of Naples (called "le Bon Roi René"), who ordered the completion of the castle in the middle of the 15th C. and who provided for artists and scientists a comfortable and courtly existence.

Protected on one side by the river and on the other by a deep moat, the solid castle resisted every siege and attack right up to the bombardment by Allied forces in 1944. The building includes a court of honor; from the battlements there is a fine view.